


What, Like it's Hard?

by Purple_ducky00



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Bucky does not know how to flirt, Harassment, Little ball of sunshine Tony, M/M, Movie: Legally Blonde (2001)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-29
Updated: 2019-11-29
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:14:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21599779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Purple_ducky00/pseuds/Purple_ducky00
Summary: Tony gets dumped by Ty, so he moves to MIT to prove him wrong.A cute, fluffy fic about literal ball of sunshine Tony Stark.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Sam Wilson, James "Rhodey" Rhodes/Tony Stark
Comments: 3
Kudos: 100





	What, Like it's Hard?

“Help me pick out what to wear!” Tony calls Pepper and Jan, vibrating with excitement. “I… I think he’s proposing tonight!”

  
“Oh my gosh, Tony! I’m on my way!” Jan squeals. “Pepper, be ready in two minutes!”

  
They spend 2 hours picking out the perfect outfit. Ty pulls up. As he gets out, Tony walks out the door. “Hi sweetheart.” Tony kisses him on the cheek.

  
“Snookums.” 

  
Once the Bugatti pulls away, Jan squeals, pulling Pepper into a tight hug. “Oh my gosh! I’m soo excited!!!”

  
Pepper, the more reserved one, smiles brightly. “Why can I see the three exclamation points after that?”

  
Jan flips her hair. “Skills.”

  
Tony and Ty enjoy a nice salmon dinner with roasted potatoes and fried calamari. Right before dessert comes out, Ty takes Tony’s hand. “Snooks, can we talk?” 

  
Excited, Tony nods eagerly. “Sure Ty!”

  
“Snooks, we have to break up.”

  
“OF COU- wait, what? Ty? Why?”

  
“I am transferring to MIT. I’m going to be running Viastone soon, and I need someone serious and useful by my side, not a party animal. I’m sure you see my side.”

  
“Ty, you can’t be serious. I love you! I thought you were going to propose!” The restaurant grows silent as Tony’s eyes fill with tears. 

  
“Tony… errr… can we not do this here?” Ty shifts uncomfortably.

  
“Why? You thought this was a great place to break up, why can’t we talk here?”

  
Ty signal for the check and quickly pays, pulling Tony out after him. The ride home is uncomfortably silent, but Tony doesn’t trust his voice enough to speak.  
Ty gets out to walk him to the door, but Tony hops out. Ty grabs his elbow. “Snookums. You know I still love you. I just can’t be with you.”

  
Tony ignores him as he walks into the house. Pepper and Jam are still here! Jan has a bottle of champagne to open, but seeing his face, she sets it on the table and wraps him in a hug. “Oh baby. What happened?”

  
“H-he broke up with me!” Tony sobs. “He s-says he needs someone useful and serious.” 

  
“He’s neither useful nor serious. He’s wrong, Tones. He’s a jerk. Take his words with a grain of salt.” 

  
Tony wipes his eyes. “No. He’s right. He has to run a business after his dad dies. He doesn’t need someone like me causing more problems from bad press. So I’m not going to do that anymore. I’m going to serious up. I’m going to transfer to MIT.”

  
“Tony, you don’t have to prove anything to him.” 

  
“I don’t, but I want to be with him. He loves me, you know. He’s just making the best choice for himself. But if he sees I can be serious and useful, he'll take me back.” 

+++++++++  
Howard Stark laughs when Tony tells him he is planning on transferring to MIT. “You think you'll get in? Hilarious.” 

  
Undeterred, Tony makes a call to the Dean, who advises he should send over his information as they may have a few openings. 

  
After a few weeks of held breath, Tony gets a letter with his transferal acceptance. Jan and Pepper are happy for him, but they think he’s making a mistake.

He flies to Massachusetts, deliriously happy.   
Checking into MIT, he learns he has a roommate – one James Rhodes. Rhodes is in Philadelphia on break so he wouldn’t meet him for another week or so, so Tony sets up his stuff in the room. Tomorrow’s the first day of class! He memorizes the schedule and hall map. Everything is falling into place. Now, to find Ty… Tony drifts off to sleep dreaming about the next day.

  
Heading down the hall for Lecture Hall 3C, Tony runs into Ty. “Hi Ty!” He says brightly.

  
Ty almost trips over himself. “Tony? What are doing here?”

  
“I got into MIT. I’m going to show you I can be serious and helpful in…”

  
“Ahem.” A beautiful woman cuts Tony off, wrapping her arm around Ty’s back. “Hi love.” She addresses Ty. “Who’s this?”

  
“Snookums, meet Tony. Tony, this is my girlfriend, Rumiko Fujikawa.”

  
 ** _Snookums_**?? That was Ty's pet name for TONY! He smiles through the pain. “Nice to meet you. I was heading to class.” He straightens his back and walks past them. 

  
The first week of class, Tony is depressed. He knows his stuff, but he's just not into it. Ty moved on, apparently. Nevertheless, Tony presses on. One little thing won’t bring him down when he is determined.   
He stops past a parts store after class and chats with the man behind the counter. A young army vet who lost his arm in Afghanistan, the man could seem to overly threatening to some, but Tony’s sunny personality wins him over.

  
Tony buys a few new parts for a project while they talk. The door opens and the man stands ramrod straight. It’s just the delivery guy. “What’s up, buttercup?”

  
James, the vet, grumbles. “Nothing. Pigeon.”

  
Tony must look so confused because the delivery guy laughs. “He’s just mad because I was Air Force, and he was Army.” 

  
“I see.” 

  
“Sign here and I’ll be out of your hair.”

  
James signs while saying, “Screw you.” After the delivery guy leaves, he releases his tension. “That’s Sam.”

  
“He’s cute.” Tony grins.

  
“Shaddup. Is that everything?” James shoots back good-naturedly.

  
+++++++++

  
James Rhodes is tired. His flight was delayed and the cab he took got stuck in traffic. Upon arriving, the dean tells him he has a roommate, some rich transfer kid from UCLA. _Daddy probably paid his way on his whim_. He knows he shouldn’t judge, but he had to work hard to get a scholarship here, and there’s just so many people who waste it. 

  
Rhodes unlocks the door to his dorm. There’s… machinery… everywhere. This new kid’s a mess. He groans internally. Bewildered, he looks around searching for… _where’s my charger?_ He finds it on the other side of the room from where he had left it. He quickly unpacks and settles into bed. When he wakes up and goes to class the next morning, he realizes he hasn’t seen his new roommate yet. Oh well. Not his problem. He might be better off not ever seeing him.  
Engineering class is definitely his favorite even though Professor Ross is a jerk. A little bit racist, VERY homophobic, and with a power complex, it is very hard to get anywhere with him. His TA, Bruce, is a very mild-mannered man. How he puts up with Ross all the time is beyond Rhodes. 

  
When he gets to the classroom, there’s a boy in his usual seat. _Wow, he is adorable_ – his glasses are almost bigger than his face! However, he’s in Rhodes' seat. “Excuse me? This is my seat.” He stands beside his desk. The boy looks up with big doe eyes.

  
“I sat here all week, and you weren’t here. It doesn’t seem like your seat to me.” He replies. 

  
Rhodes wants to yell and scream, but he’s better than that. He simply just sighs and finds a new seat, one with a much worse view of the board, but, hey, a great view of the new guy!

  
Ross walks in and asks a question. Rhodes raises his hand and answers. The new guy scoffs. “Are you kidding? That’s not true.” Of course, Ross asks for his opinion. The new guy goes on a long spiel of the ways Rhodes was wrong. The funny thing about this was, he had basically recited the chapter. This new guy just told the book it was wrong! And his points were accurate! _Who is this guy_? Rhodes is caught between admiring the guy and hating his guts.   
Class goes on the same way, this new guy and he were arguing back and forth, the rest of the class enjoying the ride. 

  
The day is over and Tony is tired. He wants to get back to his dorm and work on BUTTERFINGERS a little more. He also has to finish JARVIS' code. He hopes he can use that as his project. Oh, his roommate is supposed to be back today! Tony curses himself because he forgot to clean up. He runs the rest of the way to his dorm. Unlocking the door, he finds the cute guy from Engineering sitting at the desk. The guy stands up. “You? Not youhoohoo.” He groans.

  
Great. Just one letdown after another. Tony smiles. “I’m sorry. I lost track of time and forgot that you would be back today. I’ll clean up everything. I’m Tony Stark.” He reaches out his hand to shake. 

  
His roomie warily takes it. “James Rhodes.”

  
“James. Aw, there’s already another James here. Can I call you Rhodey? I’m calling you Rhodey. What are your classes? Mine are…” He rattles off all his classes. He knows he's rambling but he can’t seem to stop.

  
+++++++++++++

  
 _Does this guy ever shut up?_ Rhodes thinks _. And he thinks he can just call me Rhodey because he knows another James._

  
He ignores Tony for the first couple weeks, only talking to him when needed. Rhodey starts to notice a few things about the guy, though. He rarely sleeps, he doesn’t eat enough, he talks to himself, and he loves to build things. 

  
One night, he overhears Tony talking to “Pepper?” – probably another nickname.“Pep. It’s not doing too great. Ty, he doesn’t talk to me. He’s got this Rumiko chick with him at all times, and she scares the crap out of me. I don’t know, I just thought he’d still want me if I went to this school, too. And I paid attention in school and tried.” His voice cracks. “Uh huh. Mmhmm. Yea, I know Pep.” He sniffs. “I miss you guys so much! Yea. There’s a few people. Steve and Nat are great. Yea, there’s a guy at the parts shop. I think, yea that’s James, I think he’s in love with the UPS guy. I’m gonna set that up. Oh Rhodey?” Rhodes stretches his ears to listen as Tony’s voice drops. “I don’t know if he’s here or not. I think he’s really cool! He’s an engineer and in the ROTC program. I don’t think he likes me much though. He won’t talk to me. Maybe I should stop talking so much. Pep, I know. But just because you like me like this doesn’t mean most people do. Ok, thanks Pep. I love you too. Tell Wasp I said hi and that she better call when she has a chance. I already left 4 voicemails.” 

  
He walks out of his room to see Rhodes at the table. “Oh, hi.” He fumbles with his phone. “How-how long where you out here?”

  
“Just came in.” Rhodes lies to see Tony’s reaction. 

  
He visibly relaxes. “Oh ok. You just… startled me.”

  
Rhodes tries to be nice to Tony after hearing this. He will make dinner and give Tony a plate when he’s on a work binge and forgets to eat. They throw ideas off of each other when experimenting for Engineering. Tony tells him about Pepper and Jan (Wasp) from Malibu. He tells him about Ty, and Rumiko, and even about James and Sam. Rhodey gets used to his nickname and end up telling Tony about his family in Philadelphia. 

  
Tony is very tactile. He loves so much, even if the person doesn’t love him back. Rhodey can’t believe he disliked the guy in the first place. One night in January, a blizzard held them inside their dorm. They marathoned all the Star Wars movies. Tony loves Luke while Rhodey is a huge Anakin fan. When Tony cuddles up to him, he glances timidly at Rhodey. Rhodey doesn’t react-it just feels right. Oops… he’s falling for Tony… and hard.

  
+++++++++++++

  
Rhodey’s actually being nice to him now! Tony is happy. They worked on BUTTERFINGERS together. Rhodey is great cook – his mom, too. Tony’s had many cookies that she sent up. He’s Tony’s best friend at MIT.

  
Tony has made several other friends. Natasha is a drama student, Steve’s in for art. Bruce, Ross's TA, is someone who can keep up with Tony’s racing brain. He’s actually interested in Tony’s project. 

  
James Barnes, the parts store worker, is a hoot. Tony feels bad for him, though. He was in a bad relationship that totally screwed him over, and he can’t do anything about it. Now, he really likes Sam, but he doesn’t know how to approach him. He also is convinced no one could love him (compliments of his ex) so he will not ask Sam out. Tony is determined to set them up.

  
James-“My name's Bucky, kid.”-'s ex is a rich man on the good side of town. Tony wants to get back at him for Bucky. Against Bucky’s knowledge, he sends a package to this Alexander Pierce. One that’s rigged to blow when opened. Two days later, when Tony is in the shop, the man comes in, furious… and with no eyebrows. 

  
“Barnes! I am going to kill you! I have a date tonight with a hot heiress, and you ruined it!”

  
Doing his best to keep from laughing, Bucky says. “Alex. I have no idea what you're talking about. What happened?”

  
“You know.”

  
“Don’t you think that if I wanted to get back at you, I’d have done it 6 months ago? I’m over it and you.”

  
“You’re going to regret this.” Pierce storms out of the shop. Tony bursts out laughing.

  
Bucky falls off his chair. “That’s freakin hilarious, but who would’ve done that?” 

  
“Twould be me.” Tony raises his hand. 

  
“I can’t believe you! Why would you…?”

  
“To show you he’s a big bowl of jerk. And you should not worry about what he says.” 

  
Bucky gives him a side hug. “You’re alright, ya know?”

  
Sam walks in with a package. “What’s so funny?”

  
“We-ahh- well, it’s none of your business!” Bucky yells, turning to Tony and cringing so Sam couldn’t see him.

  
“Ok… sorry I asked.” Sam grins.

  
“No, it’s ok. I just sent a little bomb to his ex. It was hilarious and well-deserved. He just came in spluttering like a walrus.” Tony says easily.

  
“Non-lethal?”

  
“Nope. It killed him. Deserved it. He was a jerk to our dear Buck.”

  
“Ok. Deserved indeed. Bucky doesn’t need jerks.” Tony can SEE the hearts in his eyes. This needs to happen.

  
Sam leaves and Bucky sighs. “ I am in love with him. But he’s way out of my league.”

  
“Lies. You just need to catch his attention. Skinny jeans - put those thighs and that butt to good use. Wear a man-bun to show those cheekbones. Bucky, you’re HOT.” Bucky blushes but follows his advice.

  
++++++++++++++

  
Bruce asks a few of the top Engineering students to join a special club headed by Ross and himself. Tony, Rhodey, Ty, and Rumiko are all members. They have to create something to present at a science fair.   
Ross is demanding and demeaning. Nothing Tony or Rumiko says goes at all. She stops past Tony’s dorm one night. “Hi. Can I come in?”

  
 _Good thing Rhodey’s not here. He’d say no_. “Yea sure! We only have one couch, though.”

  
Rumiko sits down, and they sit awkwardly in silence. “You know, Ross doesn’t like us.”

  
“Yea, I’m gay and you’re female.” Tony replies.  
BUTTERFINGERS rolls up, beeping happily. Rumiko smiles. “Oh my gosh! It’s so cute! A robot.”

  
“Yea his name's BUTTERFINGERS. I think he likes you. Here.” He hands her a ball. “Throw it. He loves fetch.” 

  
When she leaves, Rumiko touches his arm. “I’m sorry I was such a crappy person. Can we be friends?” 

  
“Sure! See you in class tomorrow?”

  
Rhodey is skeptical when Tony tells him. “She’s probably just using you.”

  
“I want to give her a chance.” He says brightly.  
Class is the same the next day, but Tony brings in plans. He’s going to miniaturize the arc reactor. Ross laughs at him, but Bruce looks at the plans and believes it’s possible. This is what they’re going to do for the science fair, and if it works, Tony will go places. Ross starts taking his advice over Ty’s. He sounds like he respects his decisions. 

  
After two months, Tony finishes the final touches. The device starts to glow with energy. It powers all the lights in the room. It’s finally ready for the science fair. 

  
+++++++++++

  
Ross calls Tony into his office one day. “You know, if all goes well, I may ask you to lead a group I run with me. We tour the country teaching science to groups.”  
Tony is interested in this so he sits to talk more. Ross stands up to pour them glasses of Scotch. “You know, you’re VERY attractive for a man.” He runs his index finger and thumb over Tony’s beard and cheekbone. 

  
“What are you doing?” Tony leans away.

  
“Oh, come on. You’re a party boy from LA. You’re as easy as they come. Do you really think you’re smart enough to be in this club?” Tony jumps up, disgusted, and runs out of the room.

  
He finds Rhodey in the dorm. Crying, he tells Rhodey what happened. Rhodey is furious. “You need to report him. You are the reason we’re still IN this competition.”

  
There’s a knock at the door. It’s Rumiko. “I thought we were both discriminated against! We were both trying our hardest to get in this! And you have to go and screw the teacher.” She accuses.

  
“Rumi.” “Don’t call me that.” “Rumiko. I didn’t… I didn’t do anything. I should’ve punched him in the face. I ran out instead. I wouldn’t touch that old codger even if it was the only way I could pass.”

  
She looks at him warily. “Then why were you in his office?”

  
“He offered me a job that I’m definitely NOT going to take now.” Tony fumes. “We can get him unseated. I just need you as my witness. Let’s go to the Dean.”

  
Ross is fired, and Bruce takes his place. Tony’s team wins the science fair. Ty comes over after the fair and asks to talk. “Tones. I made a huge mistake. I didn’t think you could be serious, but I was wrong. I dumped Rumi. Will you take me back? I’m on my knees.” 

  
“Ty. You know I came all this way for you, but I realize now that it wasn’t for you. It was for me to see that I don’t need or want you. I made so many friends here that I don’t regret coming, but I’m done chasing after you. Bye.”

  
+++++++++  
Rhodey can’t believe his ears. Ty is asking Tony to come back! After all that! He can’t hear what Tony said, but he hopes he rejects him. Rhodey will not be able to bear the pain of seeing Tony with Ty. Tony walks back in the room, and Rhodey asks. “What did he want?”

  
“To get back together.”

  
“And?”

  
“Are you kidding me? The guy’s an idiot. Never gonna happen again. Thank you Rhodey.”

  
“For what? I didn’t do anything.” 

  
Tony hugs him. “You made me realize that I can do so much better than him. I love you Rhodey.”

  
Does that mean…? “I love you, too, Tones.” A moment of crackling charged air. Rhodey leans down and kisses Tony, who surges up to kiss him back. They take it to Rhodey’s room so BUTTERFINGERS can’t watch. It would feel weird if he could.

  
++++++++++++

  
“He told you he dumped me? I dumped HIS butt. Figures. I don’t know what I saw in him. And you KNOW his dad paid his way.” Rumiko rants. 

  
Tony cuddles up to Rhodey and laughs. “I thought as much. I’m glad you saw the light like me. I’m going to introduce you to my friends, Pepper and Jan. You’d love them.” 

  
Bucky and Sam visit a few days later. “I followed your advice. He definitely noticed.” Bucky rambles. “I want to thank you for all your help and for listening to my rants. You helped me see that I am capable of being loved.” 

  
When they all leave, Tony hears JARVIS' disembodied voice. “They all love you, Sir. I am very happy to know you.”

Tony used love and happiness to draw people in and never let them go. 


End file.
